Method of sharing contents by using personal cloud device, and electronic device and personal cloud system

ABSTRACT

A method of sharing content by using a personal cloud device and an electronic device and a personal cloud system using the method are provided. The method includes connecting to a personal cloud device configured to share the content with another electronic device, if a new first content is added to a set first folder, determining an upload condition of the electronic device, and if the upload condition satisfies a set condition, transmitting the first content to the personal cloud device. Accordingly, a user is able to share contents between a plurality of electronic devices by using a personal cloud device in real time.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) of a Koreanpatent application filed on Jan. 4, 2013 in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office and assigned Serial No. 10-2013-0001250, the entiredisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a method of sharing contents and anelectronic device and a personal cloud system using the same. Moreparticularly, the present disclosure relates to a method of accessing apersonal cloud device through a network in a home or through an externalnetwork to share contents, and an electronic device and a personal cloudsystem using the same.

BACKGROUND

A cloud service has been provided to store various types of contents ina server and allows for downloading the contents from the server at anytime and from anywhere by using an electronic device, such as a smartphone, or the like.

Among these cloud services, a public cloud service of the related artincludes a server having a fixed infrastructure. A client (for example,an electronic device) accesses the server through a fixed Internetidentifier (for example, an Internet Protocol (IP) address or a domain).A Network Attached Storage (NAS) system of the related art is a sharingstorage system on a network, wherein the sharing storage system uploadsor downloads contents by using an electronic device to share thecontents.

Since a cloud service of the related art shares a cloud server asdescribed above, a privacy issue occurs. For example, a plurality ofelectronic devices (for example, a smart phone, a smart TV, a tabletPersonal Computer (PC), and the like) may be used in a home, and a needmay exist for sharing contents between family members.

Therefore, a need exists for a method of sharing contents between aplurality of electronic devices by using a personal cloud deviceinstalled in a home, and an electronic device and a personal cloudsystem using the same.

The above information is presented as background information only toassist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determinationhas been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the abovemight be applicable as prior art with regard to the present disclosure.

SUMMARY

Aspects of the present disclosure are to address at least theabove-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at leastthe advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the presentdisclosure is to provide a method of sharing contents between aplurality of electronic devices by using a personal cloud deviceinstalled in a home, and an electronic device and a personal cloudsystem using the same.

Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a userauthentication method of providing a secure area in a personal clouddevice to allow only a certified user to use contents of the securearea.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, a method ofsharing content of an electronic device is provided. The method includesconnecting to a personal cloud device configured to share the contentwith another electronic device, if a new first content is added to a setfirst folder, determining an upload condition of the electronic device,and if the upload condition satisfies a set condition, transmitting thefirst content to the personal cloud device.

The upload condition may include at least one of a status of a networkconnected between the electronic device and the personal cloud andbattery information of the electronic device.

If the electronic device and the personal cloud device are connected toeach other through a set network interface, and a residual amount of abattery of the electronic device is higher than or equal to a set value,the first content may be transmitted to the personal cloud device.

If the first content is transmitted, the personal cloud device may storethe first content in a set folder and update a DataBase (DB) configuredto manage contents.

The method may further include determining a download condition of theelectronic device, if the download condition of the electronic devicesatisfies a set condition, periodically requesting update information ofthe DB from the personal cloud device, if the update information existsin the DB, downloading an updated second content from the personal clouddevice, and storing the second content in a second folder, and whereinthe DB is configured to manage contents of the personal cloud device.

The download condition may include at least one of a status of a networkconnected between the electronic device and the personal cloud device,battery information of the electronic device, and memory information ofthe electronic device.

Content information and a time stamp that are recorded in the DB of thepersonal cloud device and lastly downloaded by the electronic device maybe determined to request updated content information from the personalcloud device.

The method may further include, if the second content is completelydownloaded, transmitting a download result to the personal cloud device,wherein the personal cloud device updates content information and a timestamp lastly updated by the electronic device based on the downloadresult.

The method may further include, if the first content stored in the firstfolder is revised to generate a third content, determining an uploadcondition of the electronic device, and if the upload conditionsatisfies a set condition, transmitting the third content to thepersonal cloud device, wherein the personal cloud device stores thefirst and second contents together.

The method may further include, if a fourth content generated byrevising the second content exists in the DB of the personal clouddevice, downloading the fourth content from the personal cloud device,and storing the downloaded fourth content and the second contenttogether in the second folder.

If an external device is connected to the personal cloud device througha wire, and content stored in the external device is uploaded into thepersonal cloud device, the personal cloud device may update the DB ofthe personal cloud device, and the electronic device may download thecontent stored in the external device from the personal cloud device.

If an external device is connected to the personal cloud device througha wire, and a new sixth content is overwritten on a fifth content storedin the personal cloud device through the external device, the personalcloud device stores the sixth content and a time stamp when the sixthcontent is overwritten, in the DB, and the electronic device determinesthe time stamp to download the sixth content in order to store the sixthcontent and the fifth content together.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, anelectronic device is provided. The electronic device includes acommunicator configured to communicate with a personal cloud deviceconfigured to share contents with another device, a storage unitconfigured to store the contents, and a controller configured to controlthe communicator to determine an upload condition of the electronicdevice if a new first content is added to a set first folder of thestorage unit, and to transmit the first content to the personal clouddevice if the upload condition satisfies a set condition.

The upload condition may include at least one of a status of a networkconnected between the electronic device and the personal cloud andbattery information of the electronic device.

If the electronic device and the personal cloud device are connected toeach other through a set network interface, and a residual amount of abattery of the electronic device is higher than or equal to a set value,the controller may control the communicator to transmit the firstcontent to the personal cloud device.

If the first content is transmitted, the personal cloud device may storethe first content in a set folder and update a DB configured to managecontents.

The controller may determine a download condition of the electronicdevice, periodically request update information of the DB from thepersonal cloud device if the download condition of the electronic devicesatisfies a set condition, control the communicator to download anupdated second content from the personal cloud device if the updateinformation exists in the DB, and store the second content in a secondfolder, and wherein the DB is configured to manage contents of thepersonal cloud device.

The download condition may include at least one of a status of a networkconnected between the electronic device and the personal cloud device,battery information of the electronic device, and memory information ofthe electronic device.

The controller may control the communicator to determine contentinformation and a time stamp that are recorded in the DB of the personalcloud device and lastly downloaded by the electronic device to requestupdated content information from the personal cloud device.

If the second content is completely downloaded, the controller maycontrol the communicator to transmit a download result to the personalcloud device, wherein the personal cloud device updates contentinformation and a time stamp lastly downloaded by the electronic devicebased on the download result.

If the first content stored in the first folder is revised to generate athird content, the controller may determine an upload condition of theelectronic device and, if the upload condition satisfies a setcondition, control the communicator to transmit the third content to thepersonal cloud device, wherein the personal cloud device stores thefirst and second contents together.

If a fourth content generated by revising the second content exists inthe DB of the personal cloud device, the controller may control thecommunicator to download the fourth content from the personal clouddevice and control the storage unit to store the downloaded fourthcontent and the second content together in the second folder.

If an external device is connected to the personal cloud device througha wire, and content stored in the external device is uploaded into thepersonal cloud device, the personal cloud device may update the DB ofthe personal cloud device, and the controller may control thecommunicator to download the content stored in the external device fromthe personal cloud device.

If an external device is connected to the personal cloud device througha wire, and a new sixth content is overwritten on a fifth content storedin the personal cloud device through the external device, the personalcloud device may store the sixth content and a time stamp when the sixthcontent is overwritten, in the DB, and the controller may control thecommunicator to determine the time stamp in order to download the sixthcontent and control the storage unit to store the sixth content and thefifth content together.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a method ofsharing content in a personal cloud system comprising a first electronicdevice, a second electronic device, and a personal cloud device isprovided. The method includes connecting between the first electronicdevice, the second electronic device, and the personal cloud device if anew first content is added to a set first folder of the first electronicdevice, determining an upload condition of the first electronic devicethrough the first electronic device, if the upload condition satisfies aset condition, transmitting the first content from the first electronicdevice to the personal cloud device, storing the first content in thepersonal cloud device and updating information of a DB, determiningupdate information of the DB of the personal cloud device through thesecond electronic device to download the first content from the personalcloud device, and storing the first content in a set second folder ofthe second electronic device.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a method ofauthenticating a user between an electronic device and a personal clouddevice is provided. The method includes inputting a password into theelectronic device, encoding the password by using a public key in theelectronic device, transmitting the encoded password from the electronicdevice to the personal cloud device, verifying the encoded password byusing a private key in the personal cloud device, if the encodedpassword is verified, generating and storing a session key for a userauthentication in the personal cloud device, encoding the session key byusing the private key in the personal cloud device, transmitting theencoded session key from the personal cloud device to the electronicdevice, and decoding the encoded session key by using the private key inthe electronic device.

Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the disclosure willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings,discloses various embodiments of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certainembodiments of the present disclosure will be more apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a personal cloud system according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of sharing contents of anelectronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of automaticallyuploading contents in a personal cloud system according to an embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of automaticallydownloading contents in a personal cloud system according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of automaticallyuploading and downloading contents in a personal cloud system ifcontents are revised in an electronic device according to an embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of automaticallyuploading and downloading contents in a personal cloud system if titlesof contents are revised in an electronic device according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of automaticallyuploading and downloading contents in a personal cloud system if anexternal device is connected to a personal cloud device through a wireaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of automaticallyuploading and downloading contents in a personal cloud system if contentoverwriting is performed according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a structure of an electronicdevice according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a structure of a personal clouddevice according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a soft module configuration of apersonal cloud system according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure; and

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating a security function of a personalcloud system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The same reference numerals are used to represent the same elementsthroughout the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings isprovided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of variousembodiments of the present disclosure as defined by the claims and theirequivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in thatunderstanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary.Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatvarious changes and modifications of the various embodiments describedherein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of thepresent disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions orconstructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

The terms and words used in the following description and claims are notlimited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by theinventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the presentdisclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in theart that the following description of various embodiments of the presentdisclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for thepurpose of limiting the present disclosure as defined by the appendedclaims and their equivalents.

It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the”include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes referenceto one or more of such surfaces.

By the term “substantially” it is meant that the recited characteristic,parameter, or value need not be achieved exactly, but that deviations orvariations, including for example, tolerances, measurement error,measurement accuracy limitations and other factors known to those ofskill in the art, may occur in amounts that do not preclude the effectthe characteristic was intended to provide.

FIG. 1 illustrates a personal cloud system according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, a personal cloud system 10 includes a plurality ofelectronic devices 100-1, 100-2, and 100-3, a personal cloud device 200,a home Access Point (AP) 300, a public network 400, an authenticationserver 510, a public cloud server 520, a registration server 530, and anetwork server 540.

The plurality of electronic devices 100-1, 100-2, and 100-3 upload ordownload various types of contents by using the personal cloud device200. More particularly, the plurality of electronic devices 100-1,100-2, and 100-3 may directly communicate with the personal cloud device200 in a home or may communicate with the personal cloud device 200 byusing the public network 400 and the home AP 300 from the outside.Therefore, the plurality of electronic devices 100-1, 100-2, and 100-3may upload or download contents (for example, photos, music, videos, andthe like) by using the personal cloud device 200 in the home or from theoutside.

Here, the plurality of electronic devices 100-1, 100-2, and 100-3 may berealized as various types of electronic devices, such as smart phones,tablet Personal Computers (PCs), smart TVs, or the like.

The personal cloud device 200 is installed in the home or an office tostore contents so that the plurality of electronic devices 100-1, 100-2,and 100-3 area able to share the contents. Here, the personal clouddevice 200 may directly communicate with any of the electronic devices100-1, 100-2, and 100-3 (hereinafter commonly referred to as anelectronic device 100) to upload or download contents, but this is onlyan embodiment of the present disclosure. Therefore, the personal clouddevice 200 may communicate with the electronic device 100 through thehome AP 300 and the public network 400.

More particularly, the personal cloud device 200 is registered in theregistration server 530 based on a user account. Therefore, an arbitraryuser may log in to the personal cloud device 200 through a registereduser account to share contents stored in the personal cloud device 200from the outside by using the electronic device 100.

In addition, the personal cloud device 200 may set a normal area fromwhich a plurality of users freely upload or download contents and asecure area that only a particular user accesses. More particularly, thepersonal cloud device 200 may allow only a user who has undergone a userauthentication process to access contents stored in the secure area. Theuser authentication process of the personal cloud device 200 will bedescribed later with reference to FIG. 12.

The home AP 300 relays a connection of the electronic device 100 to thepublic network 400 so that the electronic device 100 and the personalcloud device 200 share contents outside the home.

The authentication server 510 certifies the user account through a loginoperation of the user that is performed through the electronic device100 and transmits information about the user account to the electronicdevice 100 to register the personal cloud device 200 in the registrationserver 530.

The public cloud server 520 backs up and stores the contents stored inthe personal cloud device 200.

The registration server 530 registers the plurality of electronicdevices 100-1, 100-2, and 100-3 and the personal cloud device 200 basedon the user account. For example, the registration server 530 mayregister the first electronic device 100-1 and the personal cloud device200 based on user account “A@samsung.com” and register the secondelectronic device 100-2 and the personal cloud device 200 based on useraccount “B@samsung.com”. Here, the registration server 530 may beregistered based on the user account and thus, may be referred to as auser portal server. More particularly, the registration server 530 maygenerate a user account list based on the user account, and the useraccount list may include at least one of types of electronic devices,peer IDentifications (IDs), Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, and thelike.

The network server 540 relays a communication between the personal clouddevice 200 and an external network based on the peer IDs generated bythe registration server 530 and domain information.

A user logs in to the authentication server 530 through the personalcloud system 10 described above by using the electronic device 100,connects the electronic device 100 to the personal cloud device 200, anduploads contents to the personal cloud device 200 or downloads contentsfrom the personal cloud device 200.

The plurality of servers 510, 520, 530, and 540 may be realized asdifferent servers, but this is only an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. Therefore, the plurality of servers 510, 520, 530, and 540may be realized as one server.

Methods of sharing contents in the personal cloud system 10 according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described withreference to FIGS. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of sharing contents of anelectronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2, in operation S210, the electronic device 100performs a connection to the personal cloud device 200. Here, if a setapplication is executed, the electronic device 100 may perform theconnection to the personal cloud device 200, but this is only anembodiment of the present disclosure. Therefore, if the electronicdevice 100 is turned on, the electronic device 100 may automaticallyperform the connection to the personal cloud device 200.

In operation S220, the electronic device 100 determines whether a firstcontent has been added to a first folder. Here, if the first content isgenerated, and a storage route of the generated first content isdesignated to the first folder or a first content stored in anotherfolder is copied into the first folder, the electronic device 100 maydetermine that the first content has been added to the first folder.

If it is determined in operation S220 that the first content has beenadded to the first folder, the electronic device 100 determines anupload condition in operation S230. Here, the upload condition mayinclude at least one of a status of a network connected between theelectronic device 100 and the personal cloud device 200 and informationabout a battery of the electronic device 100.

In operation S240, the electronic device 100 determines whether theupload condition satisfies a set condition. Here, if the electronicdevice 100 is connected to the personal cloud device 200 through a setnetwork interface (for example, a WiFi interface, a Bluetooth interface,or the like), and a residual amount of the battery of the electronicdevice 100 is higher than or equal to a set value (for example, 50%),the electronic device 100 may determine that the upload conditionsatisfies the set condition. Here, the set condition may be changed by auser.

If it is determined in operation S240 that the upload conditionsatisfies the set condition, the electronic device 100 transmits thefirst content to the personal cloud device 200 in operation S250. If thefirst content is transmitted, the personal cloud device 200 may storethe first content in a set folder and update a DataBase (DB) thatmanages contents.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of automaticallyuploading contents in a personal cloud system according to an embodimentof the present disclosure. In the present embodiment, communications areconnected between the electronic device 100 and the personal clouddevice 200.

Referring to FIG. 3, in operation S310, the electronic device 100generates a first content. Here, the electronic device 100 may generatea new picture or video content through an imaging unit (not shown) andgenerate new document data. Here, the electronic device 100 may generatethe first content (for example, A.jpg) in a first folder (for example, aData Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) folder).

In operation S320, the electronic device 100 detects that the firstcontent has been generated in the first folder. Here, the first folderrefers to a folder that stores content that the electronic device 100 isto automatically upload to the personal cloud device 200, wherein thefirst folder may be designated or added by a user.

If it is detected in operation S320 that the first content has beengenerated in the first folder, the electronic device 100 determines anupload condition in operation S330. More specifically, the electronicdevice 100 may determine whether a network interface connected to thepersonal cloud device 200 is a set type (for example, a WiFi interface,a Bluetooth interface, or the like) and whether a residual amount of abattery of the electronic device 100 is higher than or equal to a setvalue (for example 50%).

In the present embodiment, the upload condition includes a type of thenetwork interface and the residual amount of the battery, but this isonly an embodiment of the present disclosure. Therefore, the uploadcondition may include other conditions (for example, an upload time,whether a prohibition of uploading contents has been set by the user,and the like).

In operation S340, the electronic device 100 transmits the first contentto the personal cloud device 200.

If the first content is transmitted, the personal cloud device 200stores the first content in operation S350. Here, the personal clouddevice 200 may store the first content in a set folder (for example, async folder, and the like). Here, the personal cloud device 200 maystore contents in different folders according to the type of electronicdevice. For example, if a first content is transmitted from a firstelectronic device, the personal cloud device 200 may store the firstcontent in a second folder (for example, sync-A). If a second content istransmitted from a second electronic device, the personal cloud device200 may store the second content in a third folder (for example,sync-B).

In operation S360, the personal cloud device 200 updates DB information.More specifically, the personal cloud device 200 may update informationabout a first content that is newly added to the DB information and atime stamp indicating a time, so that another electronic devicedownloads the first content.

According to the methods described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, theelectronic device 100 may automatically upload content generated in aset folder to the personal cloud device 200.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of automaticallydownloading contents in a personal cloud system according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. In the present embodiment,communications are connected between the electronic device 100 and thepersonal cloud device 200, and a second content is stored in a setfolder (for example, a sync folder) of the personal cloud device 200.

Referring to FIG. 4, in operation S410, the electronic device 100determines a download condition of the electronic device 100. Here, thedownload condition may include at least one of a status of a networkconnected between the electronic device 100 and the personal clouddevice 200, battery information of the electronic device 100, and memoryinformation of the electronic device 100. More particularly, if anetwork interface connected between the electronic device 100 and thepersonal cloud device 200 is a set type (for example, a WiFi interface,a Bluetooth interface, or the like), the battery information (forexample, remaining capacity) of the electronic device 100 is higher thanor equal to a set value (for example, 50%), and the memory information(for example, available space) of the electronic device 100 is higherthan or equal to a set value (for example, 100 MB), the electronicdevice 100 may determine that the download condition has been satisfied.

If the download condition has been satisfied, the electronic device 100requests update information from the personal cloud device 200 inoperation S420. More specifically, the electronic device 100 maydetermine content information and a time stamp that is recorded in a DBof the personal cloud device 200 and lastly downloaded by the electronicdevice 100, to request information about a newly generated content fromthe personal cloud device 200. Here, the electronic device 100 mayperiodically request the update information.

If the update information is received, the personal cloud device 200determines the update information in operation S430. More specifically,the personal cloud device 200 may determine whether the newly generatedcontent exists, based on the content information and the time stamp thatis recorded in the DB and is lastly downloaded by the electronic device100, to determine the update information. For example, the personalcloud device 200 may determine the content information and the timestamp lastly downloaded by the electronic device to determine that anewly generated second content exists in a set folder.

In operation S440, the personal cloud device 200 transmits the secondcontent to the electronic device 100.

If the second content is received, the electronic device 100 stores thesecond content in a second folder in operation S450. Here, the secondfolder is different from the first folder, for example, may be a“download” folder.

In operation S460, the electronic device 100 transmits a downloadedresult to the personal cloud device 200.

If the downloaded result is transmitted, the personal cloud device 200updates the DB in operation S470. Here, the personal cloud device 200may update the content information and the time stamp lastly downloadedby the electronic device 100, in the DB.

According to the above-described method, the electronic device 100 mayreceive a newly generated content from the personal cloud device 200 inreal time.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of automaticallyuploading and downloading contents in a personal cloud system ifcontents are revised in an electronic device according to an embodimentof the present disclosure. Here, the first, second, and third electronicdevices 100-1, 100-2, and 100-3 included in the personal cloud system 10are connected to one another. The first electronic device 100-1, thesecond electronic device 100-2, and the personal cloud device 200 storea first content.

Referring to FIG. 5, in operation S505, the first electronic device100-1 revises the stored first content into a third content. Morespecifically, the first electronic device 100-1 may revise contents ofthe first content through a user input to generate the third content.For example, if the first content (for example, A.doc) is a documentcontent, the first electronic device 100-1 may newly add contentsthrough a user input to generate the third content (for example,A'.doc). Here, titles of the first and third contents may be the same.

In operation S510, the first electronic device 100-1 detects the thirdcontent as a new content. In other words, if the first and thirdcontents have the same titles, and at least one of contents and sizes ofthe first and third contents is changed, the first electronic device100-1 may detect the third content as the new content.

In operation S515, the first electronic device 100-1 determines anupload condition. More specifically, the first electronic device 100-1may determine whether a network interface connected to the personalcloud device 200 is a set type (for example, a WiFi interface, aBluetooth interface, or the like) and determine whether a residualamount of a battery of the first electronic device 100-1 is higher thanor equal to a set value (for example, 50%).

If the upload condition is satisfied, the first electronic device 100-1transmits the third content to the personal cloud device 200 inoperation S520.

In operation S525, the personal cloud device 200 stores the thirdcontent transmitted from the first electronic device 100-1. Here, thepersonal cloud device 200 may change the title of the third content intoa different title from the title of the first content and store thechanged title of the third content in a set folder to distinguish thethird content from the first content. For example, the personal clouddevice 200 may change the title of the third content from “A.doc” to“A(1).doc” and store the title of the third contents as “A(1).doc”.

In operation S530, the personal cloud device 200 updates DB information.More specifically, the personal cloud device 200 may update informationabout the third content and a time stamp indicating an upload time sothat the second electronic device 100-2 downloads the third content,wherein the information about the third content and the time stamp arenewly added to the DB information.

In operation S535, the second electronic device 100-2 requests updateinformation from the personal cloud device 200. Here, the secondelectronic device 100-2 may periodically request the update information.

If the request for the update information is received, the personalcloud device 200 determines the update information in operation S540.More specifically, the personal cloud device 200 may determine whether anewly generated content exists, based on content information and a timestamp lastly downloaded by the second electronic device 100-2, todetermine the update information. For example, the personal cloud device200 may determine the content information and the time stamp lastlydownloaded by the second electronic device 100-2 to determine whether anewly generated third content exists in a set folder of the personalcloud device 200.

In operation S545, the personal cloud device 200 transmits the thirdcontent to the second electronic device 100-2.

If the third content is received, the second electronic device 100-2stores the third content in operation S550. Here, the second electronicdevice 100-2 may store the third content in a “download” folder in whichthe first content has been stored.

The second electronic device 100-2 transmits a download result to thepersonal cloud device 200 in operation S555.

If the download result is transmitted, the personal cloud device 200updates a DB in operation S560. Here, the personal cloud device 200 mayupdate information about content (for example, information about thethird content) and information about a time stamp in the DB, wherein thecontent and the time stamp are lastly downloaded by the secondelectronic device 100-2.

Through the personal cloud device 200 as described above, a user mayshare content with another electronic device, wherein the content isgenerated by revising content that has been stored in the firstelectronic device 100-1.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of automaticallyuploading and downloading contents in a personal cloud system if titlesof contents are revised in an electronic device according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. Here, the first, second, and thirdelectronic devices 100-1, 100-2, and 100-3 included in the personalcloud system 10 are connected to one another. The first electronicdevice 100-1, the second electronic device 100-2, and the personal clouddevice 200 store a second content.

Referring to FIG. 6, in operation S605, the second electronic device100-2 changes a title of the stored second content. More specifically,the second electronic device 100-2 may change the title of the secondcontent through a user input. For example, if a title of a first contentis B.jpg, the second electronic device 100-2 may change the title of thefirst content into BB.jpg through a user input.

In operation S610, the second electronic device 100-2 detects the secondcontent having the changed title as a new content. In other words,although the first and third contents have the same contents and sizesbut have changed titles, the second electronic device 100-2 may detectthe second content having the changed title as the new content.

In operation S615, the second electronic device 100-2 determines anupload condition. More specifically, the second electronic device 100-2may determine whether a network interface connected to the personalcloud device 200 is a set type (for example, a WiFi interface, aBluetooth interface, or the like), and determine whether a residualamount of the battery of the second electronic device 100-2 is higherthan or equal to a set value (for example, 50%).

If the upload condition is satisfied, the second electronic device 100-2transmits the second content having the changed title to the personalcloud device 200 in operation S620.

In operation S625, the personal cloud device 200 stores the secondcontent that has the changed title and is transmitted from the secondelectronic device 100-2. Here, the personal cloud device 200 may storethe second content (BB.jpg) having the changed title and the secondcontent (B.jpg) in a set folder (for example, a sync-B folder).

In operation S630, the personal cloud device 200 updates DB information.More specifically, the personal cloud device 200 may update informationabout the second content having the changed title and a time stampindicating an upload time, so that the first electronic device 100-1downloads the second content having the changed title, wherein thesecond content having the changed title is newly added to the DBinformation.

In operation S635, the first electronic device 100-1 requests updateinformation from the personal cloud device 200. Here, the firstelectronic device 100-1 may periodically request the update information.

If the request for the update information is received, the personalcloud device 200 determines the update information in operation S640.More specifically, the personal cloud device 200 may determine whether anewly generated content exists, based on content information and a timestamp that is recorded in a DB and is lastly downloaded by the firstelectronic device 100-1, to determine the update information. Forexample, the personal cloud device 200 may determine the contentinformation and the time stamp lastly downloaded by the first electronicdevice 100-1 to determine whether the second content having the changedtitle exists in a set folder of the personal cloud device 200.

In operation S645, the personal cloud device 200 transmits the secondcontent having the changed title to the first electronic device 100-1.

If the second content having the changed tile is received, the firstelectronic device 100-1 stores the second content having the changedtitle in operation S650. Here, the first electronic device 100-1 maystore the second content having the changed title in a “download” folderin which the second content has been stored.

In operation S655, the first electronic device 100-1 transmits adownload result to the personal cloud device 200.

If the download result is transmitted, the personal cloud device 200updates the DB in operation S660. Here, the personal cloud device 200may update information about content (for example, information about thesecond content having the changed title) and information about a timestamp in the DB, wherein the content and the time stamp are lastlydownloaded by the first electronic device 100-1.

Through the personal cloud system 10 as described above, if the secondelectronic device 100-2 changes a title of a stored content, the usermay share the content having the changed title with another electronicdevice.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of automaticallyuploading and downloading contents in a personal cloud system if anexternal device is connected to a personal cloud device through a wireaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Here, theelectronic device 100 and the personal cloud device 200 are connected toeach other.

Referring to FIG. 7, in operation S705, the personal cloud device 200performs a wire connection to an external device 700. For example, thepersonal cloud device 200 may perform the wire connection to theexternal device 700 through a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface by auser. Here, the external device 700 may be a device, such as a notebookPC, a tablet PC, or the like.

If the wire connection is performed between the personal cloud device200 and the external device 700, the external device 700 selects contentthat is to be uploaded, in operation S710. Here, the external device 700may select the content that is to be uploaded, through a user input. Forexample, the external device 700 may select “C.mp3” as content to beuploaded, through a user input. However, this is only an embodiment ofthe present disclosure, and thus, the external device 700 may selectcontent that is stored in a set folder of the external device 700, ascontent to be uploaded.

In operation S715, the external device 700 transmits the selectedcontent to the personal cloud device 200.

In operation S720, the personal cloud device 200 stores the selectedcontent transmitted from the external device 700. Here, the personalcloud device 200 may store a selected content (C.mp3) having a changedtitle in a set folder (for example, a sync-C folder).

In operation S725, the personal cloud device 200 updates DB information.More specifically, the personal cloud device 200 may update informationabout the selected content and a time stamp indicating an upload time sothat the electronic device 100 downloads the selected content, whereinthe information about the selected content and the time stamp are newlyadded to the DB information.

In operation S730, the electronic device 100 requests update informationfrom the personal cloud device 200. Here, the electronic device 100 mayperiodically request the update information.

If the request for the update information is received, the personalcloud device 200 determines the update information in operation S735.More specifically, the personal cloud device 200 may determine whether anewly generated content exists, based on content information and a timestamp that are recorded in a DB and are lastly downloaded by theelectronic device 100, to determine the update information. For example,the personal cloud device 200 may determine the content information andthe time stamp lastly downloaded by the electronic device 100 todetermine that a selected content (C.mp3) exists in a set folder of thepersonal cloud device 200.

In operation S740, the personal cloud device 200 transmits the selectedcontent to the electronic device 100.

If the selected content is received, the electronic device 100 storesthe selected content in operation S745. Here, the electronic device 100may store the selected content in a “download” folder.

In operation S750, the electronic device 100 transmits a download resultto the personal cloud device 200.

If the download result is transmitted, the personal cloud device 200updates a DB in operation S755. Here, the personal cloud device 200 mayupdate information about content and information about a time stamp inthe DB, wherein the content and the time stamp are lastly downloaded bythe electronic device 100.

Through the personal cloud system 10 as described above, a user mayshare content stored in the external device 700 connected to thepersonal cloud device 200 through a wire with the electronic device 100connected to the personal cloud device 200.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of automaticallyuploading and downloading contents in a personal cloud system if conventoverwriting is performed according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. Here, the electronic device 100 and the personal clouddevice 200 are connected to each other. The electronic device 100 andthe personal cloud device 200 store a fifth content.

Referring to FIG. 8, in operation S805, the personal cloud device 200performs a wire connection to the external device 700. For example, thepersonal cloud device 200 may perform the wire connection to theexternal device 700 through a USB interface by a user.

If the wire connection is performed between the personal cloud device200 and the external device 700, the external device 700 overwrites asixth content on the fifth content in operation S810. More specifically,the external device 700 may overwrite the sixth content having the sametitle as the fifth content stored in the personal cloud device 200, inthe personal cloud device 200.

In operation S815, the personal cloud device 200 stores the sixthcontent that is overwritten on the fifth content. Here, since thepersonal cloud device 200 overwrites the sixth content having the sametitle as the fifth content on the fifth content, the personal clouddevice 200 may delete only the fifth content and store only the sixthcontent.

In operation S820, the personal cloud device 200 updates DB information.More specifically, the personal cloud device 200 may update informationabout the sixth content that is overwritten on the DB information and atime stamp indicating an upload time of the sixth content, so that theelectronic device 100 downloads the sixth content.

In operation S825, the electronic device 100 requests update informationfrom the personal cloud device 200. Here, the electronic device 100 mayperiodically request the update information.

If the request for the update information is received, the personalcloud device 200 determines the update information in operation S830.More specifically, the personal cloud device 200 may determine whether anewly generated content exists, based on content information and a timestamp that are recorded in a DB and are lastly downloaded by theelectronic device 100, to determine the update information. For example,the personal cloud device 200 may determine the content information andthe time stamp lastly downloaded by the electronic device 100 todetermine that the sixth content exists in a set folder of the personalcloud device 200.

In operation S835, the personal cloud device 200 transmits the sixthcontent to the electronic device 100.

If the sixth content is received, the electronic device 100 stores thesixth content in operation S840. Here, the electronic device 100 maystore the sixth content along with the fifth content in a “download”folder. Here, the electronic device 100 may change a title of the sixthcontent to distinguish the sixth content from the fifth content. Forexample, if titles of the fifth and sixth contents are “D.avi”, theelectronic device 100 may change the title of the sixth content into“D(1).avi”.

In operation S845, the electronic device 100 transmits a download resultto the personal cloud device 200.

If the download result is transmitted, the personal cloud device 200updates the DB in operation S850. Here, the personal cloud device 200may update information about content and information about a time stampin the DB, wherein the content and the time stamp are lastly downloadedby the electronic device 100.

Through the personal cloud system 10 as described above, althoughcontent stored in the personal cloud device 200 is overwritten onanother content through the external device 700 connected to thepersonal cloud device 200 through a wire, the user may share theoverwritten content in the electronic device 100 connected to thepersonal cloud device 200.

In the above-described embodiment, the electronic device 100automatically downloads content stored in the personal cloud device 200or automatically uploads content into the personal cloud device 200.However, this is only an embodiment of the present disclosure, and thus,the electronic device 100 may manually download content stored in thepersonal cloud device 200 or may manually upload content into thepersonal cloud device 200. In other words, the user may access thepersonal cloud device 200 to select content that is to be downloaded oruploaded, in order to perform downloading or uploading.

Structures of the electronic device 100 and the personal cloud device200 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a structure of an electronicdevice according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 9, the electronic device 100 includes a communicator110, a storage unit 120, a display unit 130, a user input unit 140, anda controller 150. Here, the electronic device 100 may play various typesof contents and may be realized as various types of devices, such as asmart phone, a table PC, a smart TV, and the like.

In FIG. 9, the electronic device 100 has a personal cloud servicefunction and synthetically includes various types of elements.Therefore, according to various embodiments, some of the elements ofFIG. 9 may be omitted or changed, and other elements may be added.

The communicator 110 communicates with the personal cloud device 200,the home AP 300, and the external servers 510, 520, 530, and 540. Moreparticularly, the communicator 110 may be realized as at least one of aNear Field Communication (NFC) interface, a Wi-Fi interface, a Bluetoothinterface, a Zigbee interface, and the like, to communicate with thepersonal cloud device 200. In addition, the communicator 110 maywirelessly communicate with an external server. Various types ofcommunication standards, such as the Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers (IEEE), Zigbee, 3rd Generation (3G), 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP), Long Term Evolution (LTE), andthe like, may be used for the wireless communication.

The storage unit 120 stores various types of data and software modulesfor controlling the electronic device 100. More particularly, thestorage unit 120 registers the personal cloud device 200 in theregistration server 530 and includes a plurality of software modules(not shown) to share various types of contents by using the personalcloud device 200.

The storage unit 120 stores content that is uploaded or downloaded fromthe personal cloud device 200.

The display unit 130 outputs an image content under control of thecontroller 150. For example, the display unit 130 may display a picturecontent and a moving picture content.

The user input unit 140 receives a user command for controlling theelectronic device 100. The user input unit 140 may be realized as atouch screen, but this is only an embodiment of the present disclosure.Therefore, the user input unit 140 may be realized as various types ofinput devices, such as a mouse, a pointing device, a motion input unit,a button, and the like.

The controller 150 controls an overall function of the electronic device100 according to the user command input through the user input unit 140.More particularly, if a new first content is added to a set first folderof the storage unit 120, the controller 150 determines an uploadcondition of the electronic device 100. Here, the upload condition mayinclude at least one of a status of a network connected between theelectronic device 100 and the personal cloud device 200 and batteryinformation of the electronic device 100.

If the upload condition satisfies a set condition, the controller 150controls the communicator 110 to transmit the first content to thepersonal cloud device 200. More specifically, if the electronic device100 and the personal cloud device 200 are connected to each otherthrough a set network interface (for example, a WiFi interface, aBluetooth interface, or the like), and a residual amount of the batteryof the electronic device 100 is higher than or equal to a set value, thecontroller 150 may control the communicator 110 to transmit the firstcontent to the personal cloud device 200.

If the first content is transmitted, the personal cloud device 200 maystore the first content in a set folder and update a DB that managescontents.

The controller 150 determines a download condition of the electronicdevice 100 to download content stored in the personal cloud device 200.Here, the download condition may include at least one of a status of anetwork connected between the electronic device 100 and the personalcloud device 200, battery information of the electronic device 100, andmemory information of the electronic device 100.

If the download condition of the electronic device 100 satisfies a setcondition, the controller 150 may control the communicator 110 toperiodically request update information of the DB, which managescontents of the personal cloud device 200, from the personal clouddevice. Here, the controller 150 may control the communicator 110 todetermine content information and a time stamp that are recorded in theDB of the personal cloud device 200 and are lastly downloaded by theelectronic device 100 in order to request updated content informationfrom the personal cloud device 200.

If the update information exists in the DB, the controller 150 maycontrol the communicator 110 to download an updated second content fromthe personal cloud device 200 and store the second content in a setsecond folder (for example, a “download” folder) of the storage unit120.

If the second content is completely downloaded, the controller 150 maycontrol the communicator 110 to transmit a download result to thepersonal cloud device 200. Here, the personal cloud device 200 mayupdate the content information and the time stamp lastly downloaded bythe electronic device 100 based on the download result.

If the first content stored in the first folder is revised to generate athird content, the controller 150 may determine an upload condition ofthe electronic device 100 and, if the upload condition satisfies a setcondition, the controller 150 may control the communicator 110 totransmit the third content to the personal cloud device 200.

If the second content stored in the DB of the personal cloud device 200is revised to generate a fourth content, the controller 150 may controlthe communicator 110 to download the fourth content from the personalcloud device 200 and control the storage unit 120 to store the fourthcontent and the second content together in the second folder. Here, thefourth content may be content that is generated by revising at least oneof the content, the size, and the title of the second content.

If the personal cloud device 200 is connected to the external device 700through a wire, and content stored in the external device 700 isuploaded into the personal cloud device 200, the DB of the personalcloud device 200 may be updated, and the controller 150 may control thecommunicator 110 to download the content stored in the external device700 from the personal cloud device 200.

If the personal cloud device 200 is connected to the external device 700through a wire, a new sixth content is overwritten on a fifth contentstored in the personal cloud device 200 through the external device 700,the personal cloud device 200 may store the sixth content and a timestamp when the sixth content is overwritten, in the DB, and thecontroller 150 may control the communicator 110 to determine the timestamp in order to download the sixth content and may control the storageunit 120 to store the fifth content and the sixth content together.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a structure of a personal clouddevice according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 10, the personal cloud device 200 includes acommunicator 210, a button 220, a storage unit 230, and a controller240.

The communicator 210 communicates with the electronic device 100 and thehome AP 300. Here, the communicator 210 may use at least one of an NFCcommunication interface, a WiFi interface, a Bluetooth interface, aZigbee interface, and the like, to communicate with the electronicdevice 100 and the home AP 300.

The button 220 receives a user command. More particularly, the button220 receives a user command to perform pairing with the electronicdevice 100.

The storage unit 230 stores various types of data and various softwaremodules for controlling the personal cloud device 200. Moreparticularly, the storage unit 230 registers the personal cloud device200 in the registration server 530 and includes a plurality of softwaremodules to share various types of contents by using the personal clouddevice 200.

The storage unit 230 stores a DB that manages uploading and downloadingof contents to share contents between a plurality of electronic devices100. More specifically, the DB may store information about contents andtime stamps, respectively, lastly downloaded by the plurality ofelectronic devices 100 and store information about contents and timestamps, respectively, lastly uploaded by the plurality of electronicdevices 100.

The controller 240 controls an overall operation of the personal clouddevice 200. More particularly, if content is uploaded from theelectronic device 100, the controller 240 stores the uploaded content inthe storage unit 230 and updates the DB of the storage unit 230. Morespecifically, if content is uploaded from the electronic device 100, thecontroller 240 may update information about content and a time stampthat are recorded in the DB and are lastly uploaded by the electronicdevice 100.

If an update determination request is received from the electronicdevice 100, the controller 240 determines update information based oninformation stored in the DB and transmits a newly generated content tothe electronic device 100.

If a download result is received from the electronic device 100, thecontroller 240 updates the DB. More specifically, if the download resultis received from the electronic device 100, the controller 240 updatesinformation about content and a time stamp that are recorded in the DBand lastly downloaded by the electronic device 100.

Through the electronic device 100 and the personal cloud device 200 asdescribed above, a user may share contents with another electronicdevice by using the personal cloud device 200.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a soft module configuration of apersonal cloud device according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 11, the personal cloud device 200 stores a media playmodule 1101, a media gateway module 1102, a cloud service module 1103,an easy setup module 1104, a Network Tracking System (NTS) client module1105, a content management module 1106, a REpresentational StateTransfer (REST) server module and a storage Application ProgrammingInterface (API) parser module 1107, a sync engine module 1108, a pushagent module 1109, a multi account manager module 1110, a securitymodule 1111, a Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) module 1112, acontrolee server module 1113, a Firmware Over The Air (FOTA) agentmodule 1114, and a middleware module and a Basic Security Profile (BSP),Kernal, Boot loader modules 1115.

Here, the middleware module and the BSP, Kernal, Boot loader module 1115manage booting a system and a file system and set firmware of thesystem, such as a network setting, a graphic setting, or the like. Thesecurity module 1111 sets coding/decoding of content and an accessauthority to the content. The DLNA module 1112 processes a multimediastandard protocol for sharing contents. The controlee server module 1113receives a remote control command of a client. The FOTA agent module1114 manages updating of firmware of the personal cloud device 200.

The easy setup module 1104 manages a communication protocol with theelectronic device 100 to register the personal cloud device 200 in theregistration server 530. The NTS client module 1105 manages a connectionto the network server 540 based on a peer ID. The content managementmodule 1106 controls an interface with a media player that plays astored content. The REST server module and storage API parser module1107 operates as a classifier that receives and processes a commandtransmission format, such as playing of content, from the client,analyzes an API of a message requested through a server to handle thecontent, shares the content, and divides and handles a personal area.The sync engine module 1108 maintains content synchronization betweenthe public cloud server 520 and the client. The push agent module 1109notifies updated contents, such as changed contents of contents, changedcontents of a user account list, and the like. The multi account managermodule 1110 manages a plurality of user accounts.

The media play module 1101 plays content through an output device (forexample, a smart TV). The media gateway module 1102 operates as contenthub of music and images. The cloud service module 1103 manages automaticuploading and downloading setting of content.

A server includes an authentication server, an NTS server, a user portalserver, a cloud server, and the like.

The electronic device 100 includes an auto upload module 1120, a contentviewer module 1121, a proxy server module 1122, a content manager module1123, an Allshare play client module 1124, an easy setup solution module1125, and an Android middleware module 1126.

The Android middleware module 1126 manages booting of the system and thefile system and sets firmware of the system, such as a network setting,a graphic setting, or the like.

The easy setup solution module 1125 includes a connectivity managermodule, an account manager module, and a provisioning manager module.The connectivity manager module sets a network, such as WiFi, Bluetooth,or the like, and identifies a type of network when being connected tothe personal cloud device 200. The account manager module manages a useraccount that registers the personal cloud device 200. The provisioningmanager module registers the personal cloud device 200 in theregistration server 530, the authentication server 510, and the networkserver 540.

The Allshare play client module 1124 operates as an interface with acompatible application that may access the personal cloud device 200.

The content manager module 1123 includes a viewing manager module, aREST handler module, and a setting manager module. The viewing managermodule manages playing and controlling of content on the electronicdevice 100. The REST handler module remotely transmits a play requestfor content of the personal cloud device 200. The setting manage modulemanages setting of automatic uploading and automatic downloading.

The proxy server module 1122 manages information transmission with aplayer installed in the electronic device 100 when playing the content.

The content viewer module 1121 generates a Graphic User Interface (GUI)for playing the content.

The auto upload module 1120 includes a service handler module thatmanages cycles of setting and executing automatic or manual uploadingand a Delta handler module that manages new information of an updatedcontent.

Therefore, the electronic device 100 and the personal cloud device 200may share contents stored in the personal cloud device 200 inside oroutside a home by using a software module as described above.

In the above-described embodiment, a plurality of electronic devicesautomatically upload or download contents to share contents stored inthe personal cloud device 200. However, this is only an embodiment ofthe present disclosure, and thus, the personal cloud device 200 may seta particular area of the storage unit 230 as a secure area to provide asecurity function that may not be accessed by other users except anauthenticated user.

More specifically, the personal cloud device 200 may provide a normalarea from which a plurality of users freely upload or download contentsand a secure area that may be accessed only by an authenticated user.Accordingly, an arbitrary user may be prevented from accessing contentstored in the secure area of the personal cloud device 200. In addition,the personal cloud device 200 may perform a user authentication processand an encoding process with respect to a stored content so that only anauthenticated user accesses the secure area.

More particularly, the personal cloud device 200 may perform the userauthentication process by using a public key and a private key. Forexample, the personal cloud device 200 may perform the userauthentication process by using a Rivest Shamir Adleman (RSA) encodingtechnique. A method of performing a user authentication process toprovide a security function of the personal cloud device to a user willnow be described with reference to FIG. 12.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating a security function of a personalcloud system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 12, in operation S1210, the electronic device 100receives a password of a secure area of the personal cloud device 200from a user.

In operation S1220, the electronic device 100 encodes the password byusing a public key. Here, the public key may be stored in the electronicdevice 100 when installing an application.

In operation S1230, the electronic device 100 transmits the encodedpassword to the personal cloud device 200.

In operation S1240, the personal cloud device 200 verifies the encodedpassword transmitted to the electronic device 100 by using a privatekey. More specifically, the personal cloud device 200 may decode theencoded password by using the private key of the personal cloud device200 and verify whether the decoded password has been justly encoded.

If the encoded password is completely verified, the personal clouddevice 200 generates and stores a session key in operation S1250. Here,the personal cloud device 200 may map and store corresponding userinformation (for example, an ID, a password, and the like) with thesession key.

In operation S1260, the personal cloud device 200 encodes the sessionkey by using the private key. In operation S1270, the personal clouddevice 200 transmits the encoded session key to the electronic device100.

In operation S1280, the electronic device 100 decodes the encodedsession key by using the public key to perform a user authenticationprocess.

The user may perform the above-described user authentication process tocontrol (for example, play, store, restore, and the like) content storedin the secure area of the personal cloud device 200.

The personal cloud device 200 may access content stored in a normal areaby using only a server solution module 1116 in response to an automaticuploading/downloading request for content stored in a normal area.However, the personal cloud device 200 may access content stored in thesecure area through only the server solution module 1116 and anadditional security module 1111 in response to an access request for thesecure area. The personal cloud device 200 may encode content toexchange data between the secure area of the storage unit 230, thesecurity module 1111, and the server solution module 1116 in order toinput and/or output content of the secure area.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure as describedabove, the personal cloud device 200 may provide a secure area in whicha plurality of users freely share contents and which may be accessedonly by a particular user.

A program code for performing a method of registering the personal clouddevice 200 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure asdescribed above may be stored on various types of recording media. Morespecifically, the program code may be stored on various types ofcomputer-readable recording media, such as a Random Access Memory (RAM),a flash memory, a Read Only Memory (ROM), an Erasable Programmable ROM(EPROM), an Electronically Erasable and Programmable ROM (EEPROM), aCompact Disc (CD)-ROM, and the like.

While the present disclosure has been shown and described with referenceto various embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilledin the art that various changes in form and details may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure asdefined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of sharing content of an electronicdevice, the method comprising: connecting to an external deviceconfigured to share the content with another electronic device;uploading a first content to the external device; and downloading asecond content from the external device, wherein the uploading of thefirst content comprises: determining, if the first content is added to afirst folder, whether an upload condition of the electronic devicesatisfies a first predetermined condition, and transmitting, if theupload condition satisfies the first predetermined condition, the firstcontent to the external device, wherein the downloading of the secondcontent comprises: determining whether a download condition of theelectronic device satisfies a second predetermined condition andrequesting a second updated content of the external device based on atime stamp when a content is lastly downloaded by the electronic device,and receiving, if it is determined that the download condition of theelectronic device satisfies the second predetermined condition, theupdated second content from the external device, wherein the externaldevice comprises a storage including a first storage area accessible byan authenticated user and a second storage area accessible by theauthenticated user and an unauthenticated user, and wherein, in responseto a user of the electronic device being authenticated, the firstcontent is uploaded to the first storage area of the external device andin response to the user of the electronic device not beingauthenticated, the first content is uploaded to the second storage areaof the external device.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the uploadcondition comprises at least one of a status of a network connectedbetween the electronic device and the external device and batteryinformation of the electronic device.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein,if the electronic device and the personal cloud device are connected toeach other through a set network interface, and a residual amount of abattery of the electronic device is higher than or equal to a set value,the first content is transmitted to the external device.
 4. The methodof claim 1, wherein, if the first content is transmitted, the externaldevice stores the first content in a second folder and updates theexternal device configured to manage contents.
 5. The method of claim 1,further comprising: storing the second content in a second folder,wherein the external device is configured to manage contents of theexternal device.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the downloadcondition comprises at least one of a status of a network connectedbetween the electronic device and the personal cloud device, batteryinformation of the electronic device, and memory information of theelectronic device.
 7. The method of claim 5, further comprising:transmitting, if the second content is completely downloaded, a downloadresult to the external device, wherein the external device updatescontent information and a time stamp updated by the electronic devicebased on the download result.
 8. The method of claim 5, furthercomprising: downloading, if a fourth content generated by revising thesecond content exists in the external device, the fourth content fromthe external device; and storing the downloaded fourth content and theupdated second content together in a third folder.
 9. The method ofclaim 5, wherein, if another external device is connected to theexternal device through a wire, and content stored in the externaldevice is uploaded into the external device, the external device updatesa DataBase (DB) of the external device, and the electronic devicedownloads the content stored in the other external device from theexternal device.
 10. The method of claim 5, wherein, if another externaldevice is connected to the external device through a wire, and a sixthcontent is overwritten on a fifth content stored in the external devicethrough the other external device, the external device stores the sixthcontent and a time stamp when the sixth content is overwritten in aDataBase (DB), and the electronic device determines the time stamp todownload the sixth content in order to store the sixth content and thefifth content together.
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:determining, if the first content stored in the first folder is revisedto generate a third content, the upload condition of the electronicdevice; and transmitting, if the upload condition satisfies the firstpredetermined condition, the third content to the external device,wherein the external device stores the first and third contentstogether.
 12. An electronic device comprising: a transceiver configuredto communicate with a external device configured to share contents withanother device; a storage configured to store the contents; and at leastone processor configured to: upload a first content to the externaldevice, download a second content from the external device, control thetransceiver to determine whether an upload condition of the electronicdevice satisfies a first predetermined condition, if the first contentis added to a first folder of the storage, transmit the first content tothe external device, if the upload condition satisfies the firstpredetermined condition, determine whether a download condition of theelectronic device satisfies a second predetermined condition and requesta second updated content of the external device based on a time stampwhen a content is lastly downloaded by the electronic device, andreceive, if it is determined that the download condition of theelectronic device satisfies the second predetermined condition, theupdated second content from the external device, wherein the externaldevice comprises a storage including a first storage area accessible byan authenticated user and a second storage area accessible by theauthenticated user and an unauthenticated user, and wherein, in responseto a user of the electronic device being authenticated, the firstcontent is uploaded to the first storage area of the external device andin response to the user of the electronic device not beingauthenticated, the first content is uploaded to the second storage areaof the external device.
 13. The electronic device of claim 12, whereinthe upload condition comprises at least one of a status of a networkconnected between the electronic device and the external device andbattery information of the electronic device.
 14. The electronic deviceof claim 13, wherein, if the electronic device and the external deviceare connected to each other through a set network interface, and aresidual amount of a battery of the electronic device is higher than orequal to a set value, the at least one processor is further configuredto control the transceiver to transmit the first content to the externaldevice.
 15. The electronic device of claim 12, wherein, if the firstcontent is transmitted, the external device stores the first content ina second folder and updates the external device configured to managecontents.
 16. The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the at leastone processor is further configured to store the updated second contentin a third folder, and wherein the external device is configured tomanage contents of the external device.
 17. The electronic device ofclaim 16, wherein the download condition comprises at least one of astatus of a network connected between the electronic device and theexternal device, battery information of the electronic device, andmemory information of the electronic device.
 18. The electronic deviceof claim 16, wherein, if the updated second content is completelydownloaded, the at least one processor is further configured to controlthe transceiver to transmit a download result to the external device,and wherein the external device updates content information and the timestamp downloaded by the electronic device based on the download result.19. The electronic device of claim 16, wherein, if a fourth contentgenerated by revising the second content exists in the external device,the at least one processor is further configured to: control thetransceiver to download the fourth content from the external device, andcontrol the storage to store the downloaded fourth content and theupdated second content together in a third folder.
 20. The electronicdevice of claim 16, wherein, if another external device is connected tothe external device through a wire, and content stored in the otherexternal device is uploaded into the external device, the externaldevice updates a DataBase (DB) of the external device, and the at leastone processor is further configured to control the transceiver todownload the content stored in the other external device from theexternal device.
 21. The electronic device of claim 16, wherein, ifanother external device is connected to the external device through awire, and a sixth content is overwritten on a fifth content stored inthe external device through the other external device, the externaldevice stores the sixth content and a time stamp when the sixth contentis overwritten in a DataBase (DB), and wherein the at least oneprocessor is further configured to: control the transceiver to determinea time stamp in order to download the sixth content, and control thestorage to store the sixth content and the fifth content together. 22.The electronic device of claim 12, wherein, if the first content storedin the first folder is revised to generate a third content, the at leastone processor is further configured to determine the upload condition ofthe electronic device and, if the upload condition satisfies the firstpredetermined condition, the at least one processor is furtherconfigured to control the transceiver to transmit the third content tothe external device, and wherein the external device stores the firstand third contents together.
 23. A method of sharing content of anexternal device, the method comprising: connecting to a first electronicdevice and a second electronic device; receiving an updated firstcontent from the first electronic device; storing the updated firstcontent to a predetermined folder and updating an information of theupdated first content and a first time stamp indicating an upload timeof the updated first content; receiving a request for downloading anupdated content from the second electronic device; comparing theinformation of the updated first content and the first time stamp tocontent information and a second time stamp that are lastly downloadedby the second electronic device; and transmitting the updated firstcontent to the second electronic device based on a result of thecomparing, wherein the external device comprises a storage including afirst storage area accessible by an authenticated user and a secondstorage area accessible by the authenticated user and an unauthenticateduser, and wherein, in response to a user of the electronic device beingauthenticated, the first content is uploaded to the first storage areaof the external device and in response to the user of the electronicdevice not being authenticated, the first content is uploaded to thesecond storage area of the external device.